Montreal’s Spice Island Festival wraps up, focus on raising funds in aftermath of Hurricane Beryl

The seventh annual Spice Island Cultural Festival in Montreal wrapped up on Sunday, with a focus on raising funds for disaster relief after Hurricane Beryl devastated the southeast Caribbean.

The event took place at Vinet Park in Montreal’s Little Burgundy borough, featuring a free public celebration of Grenada’s 50th independence anniversary with lots of music and food.

“Today is called ‘Culture in the Park’ and we’re showcasing the culture of Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique. So, we have singers. We have dancers,” said Gemma Raeburn-Baynes with the Spice Island Cultural Festival.

The four-day event that began Thursday celebrates Quebecers of Grenadian origin promoting cultural heritage within the diaspora community.

The group that organizes the festival, Spice Island Cultural Day Association of Quebec, has also launched an online fundraiser campaign for Beryl disaster relief with a goal of $15,000.

“We here in the diaspora have to help and the way we can do that is by sending money or non-perishable goods,” said Raeburn-Baynes. “So we ask people who are coming into the park to give a donation, if it’s a toonie, whatever they can give will help.”

Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell had scheduled his inaugural visit to Quebec to attend the Spice Island Cultural Festival on Friday however, his visit turned virtual as he was not able to attend due to the tropical storm.

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, Beryl was a post-tropical cyclone. At its peak in the Caribbean, Beryl reached the strength of a Category 5 hurricane.

Thousands of people across Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines were left homeless by the storm, which killed 11 people in the Caribbean and seven in the United States and destroyed schools, businesses and livelihoods on the archipelago.

Officials in the region are pleading for at least $9 million in assistance from the international community.

The United Nations joined the plea for help, noting that $5 million of the $9 million requested would go to Grenada and the remainder to St. Vincent and the Grenadines in a bid to help a total of 43,000 people.

The Spice Island Cultural Day Association of Quebec is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting Grenadian culture and heritage in Quebec. Through its annual festival and year-round programming, the association seeks to celebrate diversity and foster cultural exchange within the community.

–With files from The Associated Press